This is a story based on the lives of two sisters in Belfast during the Second World War. The four nights referred to in the byline are not consecutive - they are the bombing raids which took place during April and May 1941, more commonly known as the Belfast Blitz.
The central characters are the Bell family - Florence and Philip, along with their children Audrey, Emma and Paul. The narrator changes constantly throughout the book, but our main 3 ones are Emma, Audrey and Florence; with some interludes following the story of other characters. During these interludes you find yourself wondering why you are reading a chapter about (e.g.) a child on a train whose mother is trying to smuggle new shoes back to Belfast, but everything interconnects in the end.
The descriptions of the bombings and the aftermath are well handled and the scenes are vividly described. The story is an easy enough read, although I felt it was a bit muddled in a couple of places.
The central characters are the Bell family - Florence and Philip, along with their children Audrey, Emma and Paul. The narrator changes constantly throughout the book, but our main 3 ones are Emma, Audrey and Florence; with some interludes following the story of other characters. During these interludes you find yourself wondering why you are reading a chapter about (e.g.) a child on a train whose mother is trying to smuggle new shoes back to Belfast, but everything interconnects in the end.
The descriptions of the bombings and the aftermath are well handled and the scenes are vividly described. The story is an easy enough read, although I felt it was a bit muddled in a couple of places.